


“My flatmate keeps purring”

by Ramblesgalore



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: 5 Things, Cat/Human Hybrids, Catlock, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Guess I’ll make that tag, I don’t think it counts as angst but oop, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 12:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20723936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ramblesgalore/pseuds/Ramblesgalore
Summary: Or, Four Times John Watson made his half-cat detective purr and one time Sherlock did it all on his own.





	“My flatmate keeps purring”

One….

It had been a complete accident, the first time. John and Sherlock had just finished the case with the murderous cabbie and the detective was still riding off of a post-case high. Sherlock had already made his way into the sitting room by the time John had arisen from bed, curled up on the couch with his phone. John walked by and ruffled a hand through Sherlock’s curls, mumbling a good morning to him. John paused and turned around when he heard a purr come from the detective on the couch, low and consistent. Sherlock immediately sat right up, tail curved downwards as he flushed in embarrassment. “Uh Sherlock, did you-“ Before John got a proper response, Sherlock pounced off the couch and ran into his room, locking the door and shouting for John to “not mind him.” John shrugged and went into the kitchen, cursing under his breath when he’d seen the milk was gone.

Two…

Weeks had passed after what John referred to as the “Purring Incident” and Sherlock seemed to have deleted the memory. He never mentioned it around John again, and any attempt John had made to ask about it resulted in a twitch of the ear and a decisive change of the topic. So, for the sake of John’s sanity, he let the topic drop. He kept making new discoveries about Sherlock’s behavior and quirks as each day passed. The detective was able to observe small details easily with heightened senses, making his job a bit easier. His eyes seemed to change their color depending on the light, blue in softer lights and a vibrant green in brighter lights. John couldn’t help but find those traits of Sherlock cute, to say the least. John’s latest and least favorite discovery, however, was that Sherlock was almost completely intolerable when he was bored. Scratch marks in the table and other furniture could be found and Sherlock would be easily irritated, pupils narrowing ever so slightly and tail swishing dangerously. 

Sherlock had finally come out of his room after about two days of no contact whatsoever with John, dressing gown swishing behind him as he trotted around the flat and grabbed various papers, vials, and objects. John shrugged and lifted the newspaper higher in an attempt to ignore his flatmate’s erratic behavior, unaware that Sherlock was standing in front of him. Sherlock reached out for John’s paper and John swatted his hand away, glaring at the other. Sherlock huffed and walked away, John standing up and looking at the kitchen briefly. “I need to go shopping again, there’s no way we have any food left.” John heard a purr come from his flatmate, the noise almost sounding like a cry. Before he could even form a response or ask a question, Sherlock was locked back up in his room again, not a word to be said. 

Three..

“John are you alright?!” Sherlock’s hands were running over almost all of John’s body after getting the bomb-loaded jacket off of him, checking for any sign of injury. John tried to push Sherlock’s hands away the first time but the half-feline ignored it. “Sherlock, I’m okay really. I’m okay.” He grabbed Sherlock’s hands with his own and looked, really looked at his best friend. His tail was puffed up, part of the reason being their encounter with Moriarty, his pupils dilated with fear over what had happened to John, and his left ear twitching. The second he saw tears starting to form John started shushing Sherlock, pulling him close against him to reaffirm that he was still there, his heart pumping steadily (albeit fast) and lungs filling with air.

Sherlock clung back to John, unconsciously digging his claws into his jumper and purring shakily, trying to ebb the flow of tears carving trails down his cheeks. John kept his grip tight and pulled away just enough to look at Sherlock’s face. Everyone John had met had told him Sherlock felt nothing, was impassive to a fault and would never crack around John. But here he was, jagged and deep cracks around his edges with only John’s presence to keep him from shattering completely. Sherlock mumbled something along the lines of “that damned purring” until John swiped a tear away from the detective’s cheek, his thumb absently tracing Sherlock’s sharp cheekbone. Everything around John went to static at the first touch of Sherlock’s lips to his, the taste of salty tears and a faint reminder of tea lingering on John’s own mouth. John no longer gave a damn from that point on if people talked or not.

Four.

A steady two weeks after the encounter with Moriarty, John and Sherlock’s relationship took a dramatic yet unsurprising shift in another direction. The kiss in the pool led to a conversation about what both of them respectively felt towards each other and where they wanted this to go. John had agreed to let it become romantic, and swore that he saw the tip of Sherlock’s tail twitch out of contentment and his shoulders relax.

Curiosity finally got the better of John one evening as the pair were in the sitting room, Sherlock absently playing a tune on his violin. “Erm, what does it mean exactly?” Sherlock stopped and looked at his partner (boyfriend seemed too boyish to Sherlock), head tilting a bit out of curiosity. “You’ll have to be more specific, John.” John shrugged a bit and waved a hand at Sherlock. “The whole purring bit. What does it usually mean?” Sherlock’s right ear twitched this time, his neck going blotchy with patches of red. “Means a lot of things.” John rolled his eyes before looking back at Sherlock, curiosity burning even more. “Yeah I got that bit, but what does it usually mean for you when it happens? And why are you so embarrassed about it?” Sherlock’s eyes darted down before he decided to speak. “Most times it’s because I’m pleased, sometimes because I’m hungry, afraid or um,” Sherlock lost his words and looked down again, the final piece clicking together in John’s brain. “Nervous. That’d explain all three times you purred.” 

Sherlock nodded and glanced down again, John standing up and grabbing the other’s hands. “I think it’s nice, y’know. I don’t mind the purring.” Sherlock’s ears twitched downwards, pupils slightly narrowing at John. “I do, John. It’s completely and utterly embarrassing and not under my control, and I should always _be_ in control.” Sherlock kept complaining, tail starting to flick back and forth until John rolled his eyes once more and kissed Sherlock, moving one calloused hand to cup his cheek. Sherlock froze in place before finally reacting to John, hands falling to John’s waist and nipping at John’s bottom lip lightly with a slightly sharp tooth. John gasped in response, Sherlock taking control over the kiss shortly after. John’s hand fell from Sherlock’s cheek to the front of his suit jacket, gripping tightly and shuddering as Sherlock’s rough tongue ran against his own. Sherlock let out a loud purr in response, pulling away with a smirk as John panted for air. “I don’t think the purring is too bad when it gets this sort of response out of you, John. I’ll have to run some experiments in the near future to see it’s full effects on you, of course.”

And finally, five

The business with Irene Adler had finally been settled over a month ago, Sherlock curled up on the sofa with his head on John’s lap as John updated his blog. The pair didn’t chat, but the silence was so peaceful and uncommon that neither really felt the need to break it. Soft purring distracted John from the sentence he was writing out, making him look down at his partner. Sherlock’s eyes were closed and his breathing was calm, only interrupted by his purring. He seemed almost asleep when John looked at him closer, until one blue-green eye looked at him. “What?” John blinked briefly as until he managed to find his words once again. “Thought you didn’t uhm, y’know…” Sherlock suddenly chuckled up at John, nuzzling against his stomach. “Cats purr when they are happy John, do try to keep up.” John’s confusion melted away into adoration at the statement, Sherlock’s eyes closed once again as he relaxed. John leaned over and planted a kiss to the top of Sherlock’s hair and scratched gently behind his ears. “Good. That’s all good.” Sherlock’s mouth was slightly agape for a moment before closing, leaning into John’s touch with a smile.

“Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to leave any requests to @anything-unique-can-be-sexy on Tumblr!!!


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